The house
had an unlived-in air. The atmosphere was dank and musty, as if it
had been years since anyone had set foot inside. Only the sitting
room was warm and dry, but even there the faded wallpaper was peeling
from the walls, hanging down in strips that reached towards the dusty
wooden floor.

"Woooo!"
wailed the white-draped figure, waving its ghostly arms at the man
who sat in the high-backed armchair.

"Terrifying,
Kenny," the man said, without turning around.

"Oh,
come on," said the boy, pulling the sheet off his head to
reveal a freckled face and rumpled brown hair. "It's Hallowe'en,
Leonard!"

"Joy,"
Leonard said, without enthusiasm, turning a page of his newspaper.

"Fine,"
sighed Kenny, slumping to the floor by the fireplace, where a fire
crackled and spat.

When Kenny
said nothing else, April raised an eyebrow. "Are you going to spend
the rest of the evening sulking?" she said, long legs draped over
the arm of her chair.

"No,"
he said, rolling onto his back. "I'm just bored. I wish we could
do something," he complained. "Like... like
trick-or-treating! Anything!"

April gave
a short laugh. "Trick-or-treating? Us?" she asked. "How do you
think that would turn out?"

"I
know," the boy muttered. "I know."

April
returned to her crossword, but she was not solving the clues;
instead, she was colouring in every square until the white blocks
were indistinguishable from the black.

"Why are
you doing that?" Kenny asked, propping his head up on one arm and
watching her.

"It
passes the time," she said, not looking up, intent on her work.

There was
silence in the room except for the rustling of Leonard's
out-of-date newspaper as he turned a page. From outside, they could
hear the sounds of children's voices. It was dusk, and the
trick-or-treaters were out. Kenny pushed himself to his feet and
strolled over to the window, leaning on the sill. He looked out
across the overgrown garden to the other side of the street. On the
doorstep of the house opposite were three fat, orange pumpkins,
carved into faces with varying degrees of skill. Kenny watched
morosely as a ghost, a witch and what looked like a giant banana rang
the doorbell and were greeted by a smiling woman with a bowl of candy
and chocolate.

"But
couldn't we – " he began, turning back to the others, but Leonard
cut him off.

"No."

"But we
– "

"We
can't, and you know it."

"Things
were so much more fun before," said Kenny, glaring at his unhelpful
companions. Neither of them paid him any attention. "Don't you
remember trick-or-treating?"

"It was
fun," April agreed, lowering her crossword thoughtfully.

"I never
went trick-or-treating," said Leonard. "It wasn't such an
important ritual, in my day."

"That's
so sad!" said Kenny, looking at the older man with dismay.
"Trick-or-treating is so much fun! You get all dressed up and you
go around to houses and you get so much candy! I mean, sometimes you
get apples and stuff, but mostly you get lots of candy, and
chocolates, and – " He broke off, lost in happy reverie. April
and Leonard caught each other's eye and grinned.

"But you
learn to avoid the apple people. Dentists, mostly," Kenny went on,
shaking himself back into the present. "And you get to know which
crazy old ladies try to give you cat food instead of candy. And then
you get home and your parents tell you not to eat all your candy at
once, so you pretend to say yes and then eat 'til you're sick."
His eyes shone. "It was great."

"But
times change," said April, softly.

"I
know," said Kenny, resting his forehead against the glass, watching
another group of children being sent away with sweets.

A cat
slunk into the room and made its languorous way over to the chair
where April sat. She reached down and scratched it behind the ears.
It purred, rubbing its head against her hand, its tail curling into a
question mark.

Kenny gave
a loud sigh.

"There's
no need to mope, Kenny," Leonard said at last, lowering his
newspaper. "You know we'll have some company eventually. It always
happens."

"I
guess," said Kenny, not much cheered by this thought as he watched
the children disappear down the street.

"Want to
tell stories?" he suggested hopefully, looking at the others.

"No,"
they both said.

Kenny
looked downcast. "But I know this one about – "

"Kenny,
we've already heard them all," April reminded him.

"Oh.
Yeah."

He
returned his gaze to the window, letting his eyes trail along the
neat hedges of the houses across the road. Their own garden was wild
and overgrown, long in need of some proper attention. Things scurried
and scuttled in the undergrowth.

"You
guys are no fun," Kenny said, kicking his foot against the floor. A
cloud of dust rose from it.

"Hey,
anyone want to play a game of checkers?" he asked, his face
brightening.

"Ask
Sybil," said April, still scratching the cat's head.

Kenny
looked down at the cat, and shook his head. "She cheats," he
said, seriously. "Don't you, Syb?"

The cat
gave him a disdainful look in answer and turned her back on him.

Kenny
hurried to unpack the board, digging through the ancient chest in the
corner of the room until he found the dusty old game. He laid it out
on the floor, setting all the pieces in place. April swung her legs
down and slid to the floor to join him. She quickly plaited her long,
auburn hair, throwing it over her shoulder to keep it out of the way.

"You
want to be black?" he asked.

"Always."

They began
to play, engrossing themselves in the game. It was dark outside now,
and the three of them were soon lit only by the fire which burned in
the grate, fading into embers as yet another All Hallow's Eve died.
They could hear more trick-or-treaters now – bigger groups of
children, and no doubt the occasional gang of teenagers,
half-heartedly dressed up, hoping for loot.

"Do you
remember making jack-o-lanterns?" said Kenny suddenly, his hand
poised over the board.

"No,"
said Leonard.

April,
too, shook her head. "My parents were convinced I'd accidentally
chop my head off if I were allowed near a knife. I got to scoop out
the inside, but they only let my big brothers carve the faces."

They fell
silent as the game continued. April grinned as she hopped over five
of Kenny's pieces and claimed them.

"I win,"
she said, triumphantly removing the last red piece from the board.

"You
always win," Kenny said with a sigh.

"Can I
tell you a secret?" she said, beckoning him closer.

Kenny
nodded, leaning towards her.

"I
always cheat," she whispered.

At that
moment, there was a loud knock on the front door that made Kenny
jump. April's head snapped up. Leonard froze.

"There
they are," whispered April, a slow smile spreading over her face.

"Like
clockwork," Leonard agreed. Kenny was alert now, and all three of
them waited, motionless, their heads turned towards the entrance
hall. It surprised none of them when the door creaked open slowly,
its hinges screaming in protest after long disuse.

"Hello?"
called a nervous voice from the doorway. None of them answered.

"Hello?"
The same voice, louder this time. There were footsteps in the hall
now.

"See,
you guys?" came another voice, high and nervous. "I t-told you it
wasn't haunted. Can we go home now?"

"Children
are so predictable," said Leonard, delicately folding his newspaper
and laying it aside. "It's the same thing every Hallowe'en…
Every year for a hundred years, they come to see the haunted house.
Prove to their friends that they were brave enough to visit." He
allowed himself a small smile. "Better go and give them their
money's worth."

April
grinned more broadly, and cocked an eyebrow at Kenny. "Ready to do
a little haunting?"

He nodded
eagerly, glowing with excitement.

One by
one, they stood up. Then, just as they had for so many years, the
three figures slipped out of the room, the solidity of the wall no
impediment to them as they moved to greet their guests.

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